BJP’s Accidental PM tweet ruffles Congress feathers

Cong cries foul, BJP says it has the freedom to wish movie good luck

A war of words has erupted between the Congress and the ruling BJP over the yet to be released movie The Accidental Prime Minister, starring Anupam Kher as Manmohan Singh. While the Congress termed it as BJP’s propaganda against its party, Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore asked whether the BJP did not even have the freedom to extend wishes to a film.

The Congress locked horns with the BJP after the ruling party tweeted the trailer from its official Twitter handle on Thursday night. “Riveting tale of how a family held the country to ransom for 10 long years. Was Dr. Singh just a regent who was holding on to the PM’s chair till the time heir was ready? Watch the official trailer of The Accidental Prime Minister, based on an insider’s account, releasing on 11 January,” the BJP’s official tweet read.

Asked by journalists to comment on the film at the Congress’ foundation day function at the party headquarters on Friday, Manmohan Singh walked away with a cryptic “no comment”.

On his part, Anupam Kher said he will not back off from the snowballing controversy and took a swipe at Maharashtra Youth Congress’ threats saying they should be happy a film has been made on their leader. Kher also referred to a recent statement by Congress president Rahul Gandhi that freedom of expression is a fundamental right.

The Accidental Prime Minister is based on a book written by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s media adviser Sanjaya Baru. The biopic stars Anupam Kher as Manmohan Singh and Akshay Khanna as Sanjaya Baru. The trailer of the movie shows Singh as a victim of the Congress’s internal politics ahead of the 2014 elections.

Setting aside speculation of a probable ban on the movie in the Congress-ruled States, the newly formed Kamal Nath Government in Madhya Pradesh said it has not banned the film.

The Department of Public Relations of Madhya Pradesh Government tweeted that there is no decision by the Government to ban the film, adding that media reports announcing the ban were not factual.

Responding to the BJP, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said on Twitter that “such fake propaganda” would not stop it from asking the Modi Government questions on “rural distress, rampant unemployment, demonetisation disaster, flawed GST, failed Modinomics and pervading corruption”.

The Maharashtra Youth Congress too withdrew its demand for a special screening of the film on the former PM claiming that it did not wish to see the “campaign movie of the BJP”. Maharashtra Youth Congress chief Satyajeet Tambe had written to the film’s producer demanding a special screening before the movie hit the screens as well as “course correction” in case there was any distortion in the way events of the time were depicted in the film.

Taking a dig at the BJP over the biopic, RJD’s Rajya Sabha member Manoj Jha said that movies should also be made on alleged irregularities in the Rafale fighter jet deal, demonetisation and farmer suicides. He said films should also be made on embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya and fugitive billionaire jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah also tweeted on the film, saying, “Can’t wait for when they make The Insensitive Prime Minister. So much worse than being the accidental one.” Read more posts…